Prefabricated building structure for offshore crew quarters and the like

ABSTRACT

A building structure has prefabricated elements preassembled into modular units which are transportable to a building site for their assembly together on the same level or stacked one on another to provide a building of the desired number of rooms or stories. An outer nonporous weather-resistant coating preferably of fiber glass covers the entire exposed exterior surface areas to form a sealed enclosure. Each modular unit is a selfsustaining individual structure and includes a floor panel, upright wall panels and a unitary skid under the floor panel. The preferred prefabricated elements and the modular units have relatively broad joint surface areas which are secured together preferably by an adhesive to provide an essentially unitary structure. Multilayered prefabricated ceiling panels and prefabricated side wing panels extending outwardly from the ceiling panels form a strong aircraft-landing deck on top of the building.

United States Patent Walz et a1.

[ 51 Jan. 25, 1972 [54] PREFABRICATED BUILDING STRUCTURE FOR OFFSHORE CREW QUARTERS AND THE LIKE [72] Inventors: Frank C. Walz, Golden; Jerry B. Davis, Lakewood, both of C010.

[52] U.S. Cl ..52/79, 52/236 [51] Int. Cl ..E04h 1/00 [58] Field of Search ..52/79, 236, 94, 73

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,828,842 4/1958 Plumley et al. ..52/79 X 3,110,907 11/1963 King ..52/79 X 3,229,431 l/1966 Paul ..52/79 X 3,289,382 12/1966 VanderLely .....52/79 X 3,292,327 12/1966 VanderLely 52/79 X 3,378,964 4/1968 Erickson..... ..52/79 3,422,582 1/1969 VanderLely ..52/79 3,452,493 7/1969 Mims ..52/73 3,466,818 9/1969 VanderLely "52/79 3,468,081 9/1969 Saarinen ..52/79 2,883,711 4/1959 Kump ..52/79 X 3,385,002 5/1968 Quinif ..52/615 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 766,840 9/1967 Canada ..5 2/79 Primary Examiner--Frank L. Abbott Assistant Examiner-Sam D. Burke Att0rney.lohn E. Reilly and Ancel W. Lewis, Jr.

[5 7] ABSTRACT A building structure has prefabricated elements preassembled into modular units which are transportable to a building site for their assembly together on the same level or stacked one on another to provide a building of the desired number of rooms or stories. An outer nonporous weather-resistant coating preferably of fiber glass covers the entire exposed exterior surface areas to form a sealed enclosure. Each modular unit is a self-sustaining individual structure and includes a floor panel, upright wall panels and a unitary skid under the floor panel. The preferred prefabricated elements and the modular units have relatively broad joint surface areas which are secured together preferably by an adhesive to provide an essentially unitary structure. Multilayered prefabricated ceiling panels and prefabricated side wing panels extending outwardly from the ceiling panels form a strong aircraft-landing deck on top of the building.

8 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJANZSIHYZ sfsselssv SHEEI 1 {IF 5 INVE OR FRANK c. WALZ JERRY B. DAVIS F 7 B /(Q h ATTORNEY SHEET [1F 5 PATENTED JAN25 1972 INVIENTOR. FRANK c WALZ T%IEY JERRY B DAY/S PATENTEU M25197? 3535557 sum 5 or 5 INVENTOR. FRANK C. WA LZ BY JfERR; B.

A T ORNEY PREFABRICATED BUILDING STRUCTURE FOR OFFSHORE CREW QUARTERS AND THE LIKE This invention relates to building structures and more 'particularly to novel and improved prefabricated modular building units which are transportable to the intended building site and can be quickly and efficiently assembled into a multiroom structure, such as, for instance, crew quarters for offshore drilling operations.

A recent trend in the building trade has been toward precut and preassembled structures. There are many advantages of being able to cut the material and fully assembly the parts in a plant or factory including the advantage of having materials transported to a common location and the full benefit of assembly line techniques. Some attempt has been made to construct separate modular units for each room and then assemble these units into a building of a selected size. For the most part these structures have incorporated a substantial amount of metal or like heavy materials which greatly increases the cost and weight of the modular units. The weight and ease of assembly of each unit at a site are important factors to be taken into consideration in using the preassembled modular room techniques. One particular application for which the features of the present invention are especially suited is crew quarters for offshore drilling operations with landing facilities. A building structure in accordance with the present invention is sufficiently durable to withstand the salt water conditions and the landing of aircraft vehicles thereon.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide relatively lightweight, durable and weatherproof modular building units which may be easily assembled into a unitary building.

Another object of this invention is to provide modular building units using sandwich-type panels and a skid made essentially of wood and sealed with an outer nonporous coating so as to be waterproof from the external elements.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved essentially wooden modular unit having a coefficient of expansion which is essentially the same at all joints so that the individual parts work together as a unitary structure.

It is yet a further object of this invention to provide modular units which may be assembled into multiple stories without essentially changing the design of the joints of each modular unit.

A further object of this invention is to provide a flight deck which may also define at least a portion of the roof of .the building and which is composed of a structural honeycomb sandwich structure.

In accordance with the present invention a monolithic diaphragm structure is defined by modular building units made of lightweight, laminated panels including structural honeycomb core and outer skin members with a skid under the floor panel secured as an integral part thereof. The elements making up each modular unit have relatively broad joint surface areas which are secured together to make a strong unitary structure. The coefficient of expansion of the material which interconnects the joint surface areas is essentially the same so that once assembled it tends to transfer the load equally throughout the roof, wall and floor panels and skid elements of the modular units. The strong skid permits the assembly to be lifted or elevated by a boom or the like and stacked one on the other and in a side-by-side and end-to-end relation to make up a multiroom building. The entire building is made up of the assembled modular units and has an outer protective layer or uniform nonporous body preferably of fiber glass which protects the internal support structure from the external elements. The skin members applied to the structural honeycomb core in forming the roof panels provide in combination with the main bearing walls a strong deck structure for helicopter landings on the building.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing somewhat schematically a building structure with aircraft landing facilities embodying features of the present invention suitable for offshore crew living quarters and the like.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the building structure with land ing facilities shown in FIG. I with portions of the outrigger broken away to show interior parts.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view across the width of the building taken along lines 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view across a portion of the length of the building taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of the upper modular unit taken across its length.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of the upper modular unit taken across its width.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a corner joint of two end-to-end modular units.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a corner joint of the skid.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a corner joint of the wall panels along the hallway of a modular unit.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along lines l0l0 of FIG. 2 showing the joint between the panels which form the side wings.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along lines 11-11 of FIG. 2 showing the joint between the deck and an adjoining ceiling panel.

FIG. 12 is a top plan view of a side frame member forming a part of the outrigger; and

FIG. 13 is a top plan view of a comer frame member forming a part of the outrigger.

Referring now to the drawings, in FIGS. 1 and 2 there is shown a typical two-story, eight-module building including aircraft landing facilities on its top surface, and the building is specifically adapted for use as an off-shore living quarters and the like. This building has eight interconnected modular units which are supported on a base 10, there being on the lower level, modular units 11 and 12 arranged end-to-end to one another and disposed side-by-side to units 13 and 14, respectively, which are arranged end-to-end to one another. The second floor level has modular units 15 and 16 arranged endto-end to one another and on top of units I1 and 12, respectively. Units 15 and 16 are disposed side-by-side and are spaced from units 17 and 18 which are secured on top of units 13 and 14, respectively. A lower hallway l9 and an upper hallway 20 are provided between the spaced side-by-side modular units for a closed access thereinto. A flight deck generally designated by numeral 22 is provided on top of the building to permit landing of an aircraft such as a helicopter thereon. Although lines are shown dividing the above modular units for understanding of the invention it is understood that this is to show generally their relative locations. The outer layer hereafter described which covers the building will in effect cover all joints so these do not actually appear in the final assembled building.

Generally, each modular unit designated 11 through 18 inclusive is a complete self-sustaining structure capable of being transported to the point of use and is equipped with electricity, water and heating facilities with external couplings so that all that remains to be done at the building site is to connect the utilities to the available supply outlets and install the modular units in place.

With particular reference now to FIGS. 3 and 4 the complete building will be described followed by a more detailed description of the separate prefabricated elements. Each lower level modular unit is essentially the same in construction and comprises a plurality of prefabricated elements forming a generally oblong-shaped enclosure including a floor panel 25, upright sidewall panels 26 and 27 and upright end wall panels 28 and 29 joined at their lower edges to the floor panel with an open upper framework 31 mounted on top of the wall panels. Skids are positioned under the floor panels directly beneath and running parallel to the side and end wall panels. Similarly, each upper level modular unit comprises a plurality of prefabricated interconnected elements forming a common, oblong-shaped enclosure defined by a floor panel 33, upright sidewall panels 34 and 35 and upright end wall panel 41 extending between the floor panels of the opposing lower level modular units, an upper hallway panel 42 extending between the floor panels of the opposing upper level modular units and a ceiling hallway panel 43 extending between the ceiling panels of the upper modular units. These hallway panels may be of a variety of lengths, three being shown end-to-end in the building illustrated. The upper modular unit has sidewall wings 44 and 45 projecting outwardly from each side of the building, the wings being extensions of the adjacent ceiling panels and are formed by prefabricated panels like the ceiling panels to form a portion of landing deck 22. Two panels are shown arranged end-to-end to one another on each side of the building. An outrigger 46 in the form of a safety fence projects outwardly from the one end of the building and the sides of the wing panels 44 and 45 to provide for increased surface area for landing aircraft.

As best exemplified in FIGS. 3 and 4 the assembled building has an outer protective coating or layer generally designated by numeral 47 which covers all of the exposed exterior surfaces to define an essentially seamless, nonporous, hermetically sealed enclosure or monocoque structure. This protective layer is preferably fiber glass which may be sprayed or otherwise applied in bonded relation to the outer surface areas to a desired thickness. As employed herein the term fiber glass" has specific reference to glass fibers bonded together by a suitable bonding agent such as a synthetic resinous compound which is applied to the prefabricated elements and will harden or cure into firm bonded relation to the underlying surface.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7 the modular units on the same level and in end-to-end relation have adjoining end wall panels 39 and 37 and abutting sidewall panels 27 and 35. Suitable fasteners are shown in FIG. 4 to be in the form of bolts 48 each threaded on both ends and extending at spaced intervals through the beams in the end panels 29 and 37 and having a nut on each end. Bolts 49 are threaded in a similar manner on both ends and extend through the upper skids 39 on the upper modular units and has a nut on each end. The juncture between the end-abutting modular units is covered by an outer protective layer 50 as shown in FIG. 7 which is placed thereon after the separate modular units have been assembled in position as shown.

The details of the prefabricated elements which make up the modular units will now be described with particular reference to FIGS. 3 through 6. Each room panel is preformed and cut for a desired room requirement. These panels are constructed to provide maximum strength and minimum weight together with good insulating and weatherproofing characteristics. The floor panel 33 of the upper level modular unit, as shown in more detail in FIGS. and 6, is typical. It is generally rectangular in shape and comprises a structural honeycomb core member 51 characterized by its insulating properties and strength, flat sheet or skin members 52 and 53 bonded to the upper and lower surfaces of the core together with a wood beam 54 between the sheets defining a continuous outer border along the outer edges of the panel. The floor panels are also shown to include internal wood beams or joists 55 between the outer sheets or skin members at spaced intervals across its width to lend increased rigidity and strength. The ceiling panels 38 which form the flight deck portion 22 have relatively thick skin members 52 and 53' and a relatively thick structural honeycomb core 51, and an additional skin member 56 is placed on top of the upper skin member 52' for added strength. Again, joists 55' are arranged at spaced intervals between the skins. The upper sheet 56 is shown to have a recessed portion 57 along its outer peripheral edge. An external cap or covering layer 58 of the same material as layer 47 extends along this recessed portion 57 and over the joint between the ceiling panel and the outer wall panel as shown in FIG. 5 to provide a'good seal as well as structural stability and continuity from the roof to the wall panels. The outer protective layer or weatherproofing coating making up the enclosure 47 is preferably formed on the exterior exposed surface of each of the panels as a part of their fabrication prior to assembly so that all that remains in the final assembly is to cover the areas at the joints formed by the parts being brought together.

The skids 32 and 39 are made up of four similarly shaped prefabricated wooden beams 61 which are preassembled in an open box-shaped framework and are rigidly secured edgewise against and under the floor panels, each beam 61 having relatively flat ends which abut the flat sides of adjacent beams to form square corners and butt-type joints, as shown in FIG. 8. As assembled the skid has outer sides generally flush with the outer sides of the floor panels disposed thereon and the beams 61 are of a greater thickness than the wall panels located above them. The exposed surfaces of the skid are covered with the outer protective layer or coating 47 which is preferably formed on the exterior or exposed surfaces of the skid prior to being assembled under the floor panel. For the preferred wood construction shown each beam 61 is made up of three timbers or boards bonded or laminated together in side-byside relation to one another. The outer two members a and b are of equal width and the inner member 0 is of a lesser width to form an inwardly stepped undercut joint surface area 62 along the bottom of the skid. An additional or second protective layer coating cap 62 is shown as covering layer 47 at the lower portion of the beam at the joint surface area 62 for added strength and durability.

The upper framework 31 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, like the skids 32 and 39, is composed of prefabricated beams 64 which are preassembled as an open box-shaped framework and are rigidly secured to the top of the wall panels of the lower level modular unit. The upper framework 31 forms an inner clearance space between the floor of the upper unit and the tops of the walls to the lower unit to accommodate a suitable air-conditioning and heating duct system. This upper framework 31 has board timber members d and e-which fit directly and edgewise on the wall panel, and two inner timber panel members f and g are laminated together with the outer timber members d and e and form an inwardly stepped surface area or inset curb area 65 which is complementary to that of the bottom joint surface area 62 of the skid 39. This joint construction between the upper and lower modular units permits the upper unit to be quickly and accurately placed on the lower unit in aligned relationship using an overhead boom or the like. The fiber-glass-coated beams 64 as described provide good durability for such assembly practices. After their assembly at the building site the juncture between the units will be covered with a strip or covering material of fiber glass which will blend to form a part of the outer enclosure layer 47.

The joint surface areas between the modular units above described and the prefabricated elements which make up the modular units may be characterized as relatively broad and when assembled as shown abut one another so that an adhesive or mastic applied thereto will form an adhesive seam interconnecting separate elements into a unitary structure. Typically all of the prefabricated panels which make up the modular units have flat edges or end portions and their flat side, faces which abut against one another form butt-type joints.

A corner connection for the wall panels on the hallway side is illustrated in FIG. 9 wherein the vertical edge of sidewall panel 27 abuts against the flat side of the end wall panel 28. A angle member 66 is preferably bonded to the inside corner for added strength. The external corner construction for the wall panels 27 and 28 is typically squared along the outer surface but in the form shown in FIG. 9 one outer beam is omitted from panel 28 to provide a recessed or inwardly stepped area adapted to receive a hallway door. The upper surface edges of the skids 32 and 39 are flat to abut against and be secured in edgewise relation to the flat undersurface of the floor panel. In their assembly the flat abutting edge surfaces are covered with a glue or mastic such as a polyester glue which when hardened has essentially the same coefficient of expansion as the wood which it secures so that there is essentially a uniform coefficient of expansion throughout and modular unit and the load produced on the roof is transferred through the walls and through the skids to the ground or base.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the joint surface areas for the hallway floor panels 41 and 42 and the ceiling panel 43 may be generally characterized by being inwardly stepped or offset along their side edges. Referring to panel 41, which is typical, there is provided on opposite side edges, inwardly stepped undercut surface areas 68 and 69 which interfit with complementary outwardly stepped joint surface 71 and 72 on the opposing floor panels of the modular units to form a lap-type joint. These stepped surface areas are conveniently provided in the laminated construction by making each layer of different dimension.

Thepanels which make up the side wings 44 and 45 are generally of the same sandwich construction as the ceiling panels above described. As shown particularly in FIG. 6 the ceiling panel 44 has an inwardly stepped or recessed joint surface area 73 formed along its outer peripheral edge which interfits with a complementary stepped area 74 along the inner peripheral edge of the wing panels 44 and 45 to form a laptype joint. An additional sheet member 75 of the same thickness as the outer ceiling layer 56 overlaps the joint and is placed in position after assembly of the side wing panels on the adjacent ceiling panels. An outer cover layer 76 is then laid up over the sheet member in the final assembly. A series of spaced side brackets 77 fit under the side wing panels and against the sidewall of the building and provide added support for the wings.

In the joint structure between the two end-to-end side wing panels designated 44a and 44b in FIG. 10, the panel 44a is provided joint surface area 81 which interfits with a stepped undercut surface area 82 on the other panel. An overlapping sheet member 83 of the same thickness as the outer sheet of the adjacent panels covers this joint between the deck panels 440 and 44b. The joint structure between the landing deck panel 38 and the ceiling panel 84 of the modular units beyond the landing deck is shown in FIG. 11. The upper skin members 52 and 56 of the deck ceiling are bevelled downwardly away from the deck as shown at 85, and the outer layer-47, inclines downwardly away from the deck. An inner layer 86 is provided under the joint to seal the joint for added structural and weather resistance. The bottom surfaces of the abutting panels 38 and 84 are on the same level which places their abutting end beams in offset relation to one another.

As broadly illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the side wings 44 and 45 are tapered or inclined inwardly toward the building at each end so that the overall shape of the landing deck 22 is essentially octagonal in shape, although it is apparent that the deck may assume other configurations, such as, circular or rectangular. The outrigger 46 is in the form of a safety fence which projects outwardly from and forms a horizontal continuation of the side wings 44 and 45 and from one end of the building. The outrigger 46 greatly increases the overall effective surface area of the landing deck to meet the surface area landing requirements for an aircraft such as a helicopter. Preferably as further shown in FIGS. 2, 5, l2 and 13, the outrigger 46 generally comprises frame members, herein referred to as side frame members 88 and corner frame members 89, disposed at spaced intervals along the wings and end of the building. Each side member 88 comprises a bracket 91 having a generally right-angle cross section which fits against the upper corner of the support structure and is secured thereto by fasteners 92 which extend through apertures in the top and sides of the bracket as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. As best seen from FIGS. 12 and I3, a main tubular or cantilever portion 93 extends outwardly from each bracket 91 and has a pair of transverse, oppositely directed inner sockets 94 and a pair of outer transverse, oppositely directed sockets 95 adapted to receive inner and outer pipe or tubular brace portions 96 and 97 which are'held' therein generally parallel to the sides of the wings and the end of the building to form a continuous inner and outer railing or brace structure. The corner frame member 89 is essentially a double arrangement of the-side frame member 88 having a bracket 98 shaped to fit over the corners between the wings and end of the building, outwardly divergent, main tubular portions 93', angled tubular brace portions 97' between the outer sockets 95, and inner connected sockets 94'. The side frame members and corner frame members are covered with a layer of wire 99, such as, chain link and a top layer of fabric 101 such as a nylon fabric.

The preferred assembly practice generally is to have each modular unit 11 through 18 assembled at a plant using assembly line techniques. The prefabricated elements which make up the modular units are typically brought together proceeding from the ground up. In their assembly the joint surface areas are coated with an adhesive such as a polyester glue before being brought together. Nails or spikes may be also used as fasteners at the joints. The separate elements i.e., modular room units, hallways, panels, wing panels, outrigger ports, etc., are transported to a building site together with a base 10 on which they are mounted. Base 10 is made up of a plurality of structural steel'members which may be welded together to the required dimension. The base is preferably provided with spaced lift points on each side for the boom cable. At the building site the lower level modular units are first placed on the base 10 preferably by an overhead boom and the other elements are successively put in position from above after their joint surface areas have been coated with an adhesive. The protective layer is then applied to those surfaces or joints not previously covered, such as, between the upper and lower modular units and between the end-to-end modular units as above described to define a monolithic, diaphragm structure. It is important to note that the landing deck for helicopters is composed of the structural honeycomb sandwich panel structure which is supported by the main bearing walls as defined by the side and end wall panels, also composed of honeycomb sandwich panels. The honeycomb core exhibits excellent compressional strength while the joists 55 serve primarily to absorb shear loading the upper skins absorb impart loading of the craft.

Although the present invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example and that changes in details of structure and system components may be made without departing from the spirit thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. In a prefabricated building structure, the combination comprising a plurality of modular units arranged with a plurality of upper units supported on a plurality of lower units, each said modular unit being in the form of a common enclosure defined by a prefabricated fioor panel, prefabricated upright wall panels secured to the floor panel, and a skid secured under said floor panels with an inwardly stepped and undercut lower joint surface area along said skid, said upper units having ceiling panels forming a roof, each said lower unit having an upper, open framework with an upper joint surface area complementary to and receiving each said lower joint surface area, said upper and lower joint surface areas being secured together to form overlapping joints, and an outer protective layer covering the exterior surfaces of said modular units and said joints to define a common nonporous enclosure, a major portion of the roof being formed of ceiling panels of greater thickness than the thickness of other of said ceiling panels to define a flight deck for landing and takeoff of aircraft onto and from said building structure, said flight deck overlying a plurality of modular units with the overlapping joints formed between said joint surface areas extending beneath the flight deck to transmit the weight of said flight deck and any loads applied thereto through the wall panels and into the skids under said lower units, without the use of metal reinforcing members, said flight deck having side wings projecting outwardly beyond the sides of the building structure and an outrigger bordering the outsides of the side wings and end of the building.

2. In a prefabricated building structure as set forth in claim 1 wherein said skid and upper framework are each composed of laminated wooden beams and the joint surface areas of the skid are formed of fiber glass.

3. In a prefabricated building structure as set forth in claim I wherein said interfitting joint surface areas between the skid and upper framework are bonded together.

4. In a prefabricated building structure having a plurality of prefabricated modular units, a flight deck on the building comprising, in combination, a roof structure composed of a plurality of prefabricated ceiling panels covering the top of 7 said modular units, side wing panels forming continuations of said ceiling panels and projecting outwardly from outer sides of the ceiling panels, said ceiling panels and side wing panels composed of upper and lower skin members and a honeycomb core and reinforcing beams sandwiched between said skin members, said side wing panels and selected ones of said ceiling panels having honeycomb core sections of increased thickness to define flight deck panels forming a major portion of said roof structure capable of withstanding the load of aircraft landing and taking off onto and from the flight deck ceiling panels, an outer protective layer covering the exterior surface of said ceiling and side wing panels to form a sealed nonporous enclosure, and an outrigger in the form of a safety fence having an open metal frame and a top covering on said frame bordering the outsides of said side wing panels and end of the building and, said top covering forming a horizontal continuation of the side wing panels and end of the building to provide an increased surface area for takeoff and landing of aircraft.

5. In a prefabricated building structure as set forth in claim 4 including outrigger means projecting outwardly from said side wing panels and from one end of said roof structure and having an upper surface generally coplanar with the top of said ceiling structure and side wings.

6. In a prefabricated building structure as set forth in claim 4 wherein said' ceiling panels forming, the flight deck are and lower units being arranged on the same level end-to-end beveled away from one end of the flight deck to merge with the top surfaces of adjoining ceiling panels of lesser'thickness to provide a continuous ceiling structure for the building adjacent to the flight deck.

7. An offshore prefabricated building structure comprising, in combination, a plurality of interconnected prefabricated modular units arranged with upper units supported on lower units and lower units on a common base, each of the upper to one another and spaced side-by-side to one another, each said modular unit including a prefabricated floor panel and prefabricated upright wall panels arranged to form a room each said upper unit having a prefabricated ceiling panel secured on the wall panels, side wing panels forming continuations of said ceiling panels and projecting outwardly from the outer sides of the ceiling panels, modular units between the spaced side-by-side panels forming hallways including a prefabricated hallway floor panel between each of opposing floor panels, a hallway ceiling panel extending between each of the opposing ceiling panels, said floor, wall and ceiling panels composed of upper and lower skin members and a honeycomb core and reinforcing beams sandwiched between said skin members and having overlapping joint surface areas, and said ceiling panels forming a roof covering for said building structure, an outer protective layer of fiber glass covering the exterior surfaces of said panels and joints on the outsides of said modular units todefine a common, nonporous enclosure; a supporting skid under each of said floor panels, each skid being of open box-shaped configuration and composed of laminated wooden beams, and selected ones of said ceiling panels forming a flight deck, and an outrigger in the form of a safety fence having an open metal frame and a top covering on 

1. In a prefabricated building structure, the combination comprising a plurality of modular units arranged with a plurality of upper units supported on a plurality of lower units, each said modular unit being in the form of a common enclosure defined by a prefabricated floor panel, prefabricated upright wall panels secured to the floor panel, and a skid secured under said floor panels with an inwardly stepped and undercut lower joint surface area along said skid, said upper units having ceiling panels forming a roof, each said lower unit having an upper, open framework with an upper joint surface area complementary to and receiving each said lower joint surface area, said upper and lower joint surface areas being secured together to form overlapping joints, and an outer protective layer covering the exterior surfaces of said modular units and said joints to define a common nonporous enclosure, a major portion of the roof being formed of ceiling panels of greater thickness than the thickness of other of said ceiling panels to define a flight deck for landing and takeoff of aircraft onto and from said building structure, said flight deck overlying a plurality of modular units with the overlapping joints formed between said joint surface areas extending beneath the flight deck to transmit the weight of said flight deck and any loads applied thereto through the wall panels and into the skids under said lower units, without the use of metal reinforcing members, said flight deck having side wings projecting outwardly beyond the sides of the building structure and an outrigger bordering the outsides of the side wings and end of the building.
 2. In a prefabricated building structure as set forth in claim 1 wherein said skid and upper framework are each composed of laminated wooden beams and the joint surface areas of the skid are formed of fiber glass.
 3. In a prefabricated building structure as set forth in claim 1 wherein said interfitting jOint surface areas between the skid and upper framework are bonded together.
 4. In a prefabricated building structure having a plurality of prefabricated modular units, a flight deck on the building comprising, in combination, a roof structure composed of a plurality of prefabricated ceiling panels covering the top of said modular units, side wing panels forming continuations of said ceiling panels and projecting outwardly from outer sides of the ceiling panels, said ceiling panels and side wing panels composed of upper and lower skin members and a honeycomb core and reinforcing beams sandwiched between said skin members, said side wing panels and selected ones of said ceiling panels having honeycomb core sections of increased thickness to define flight deck panels forming a major portion of said roof structure capable of withstanding the load of aircraft landing and taking off onto and from the flight deck ceiling panels, an outer protective layer covering the exterior surfaces of said ceiling and side wing panels to form a sealed nonporous enclosure, and an outrigger in the form of a safety fence having an open metal frame and a top covering on said frame bordering the outsides of said side wing panels and end of the building and, said top covering forming a horizontal continuation of the side wing panels and end of the building to provide an increased surface area for takeoff and landing of aircraft.
 5. In a prefabricated building structure as set forth in claim 4 including outrigger means projecting outwardly from said side wing panels and from one end of said roof structure and having an upper surface generally coplanar with the top of said ceiling structure and side wings.
 6. In a prefabricated building structure as set forth in claim 4 wherein said ceiling panels forming the flight deck are beveled away from one end of the flight deck to merge with the top surfaces of adjoining ceiling panels of lesser thickness to provide a continuous ceiling structure for the building adjacent to the flight deck.
 7. An offshore prefabricated building structure comprising, in combination, a plurality of interconnected prefabricated modular units arranged with upper units supported on lower units and lower units on a common base, each of the upper and lower units being arranged on the same level end-to-end to one another and spaced side-by-side to one another, each said modular unit including a prefabricated floor panel and prefabricated upright wall panels arranged to form a room each said upper unit having a prefabricated ceiling panel secured on the wall panels, side wing panels forming continuations of said ceiling panels and projecting outwardly from outer sides of the ceiling panels, modular units between the spaced side-by-side panels forming hallways including a prefabricated hallway floor panel between each of opposing floor panels, a hallway ceiling panel extending between each of the opposing ceiling panels, said floor, wall and ceiling panels composed of upper and lower skin members and a honeycomb core and reinforcing beams sandwiched between said skin members and having overlapping joint surface areas, and said ceiling panels forming a roof covering for said building structure, an outer protective layer of fiber glass covering the exterior surfaces of said panels and joints on the outsides of said modular units to define a common, nonporous enclosure; a supporting skid under each of said floor panels, each skid being of open box-shaped configuration and composed of laminated wooden beams, and selected ones of said ceiling panels forming a flight deck, and an outrigger in the form of a safety fence having an open metal frame and a top covering on said frame bordering the outsides of said side wing panels and end of the building and, said top covering forming a horizontal continuation of the side wing panels and end of the building to provide an increased surface area for takeoff and landing of aircraft.
 8. An offshore prefabricated building structure as set forth in claim 7 wherein said hallway floor panels and said hallway ceiling panels have inwardly stepped undercut surface areas along each side to form with the adjacent panels of the modular units an overlapping joint. 